This invention concerns a switch, comprising a template box whose outer shape is roughly prismatic, equipped on the front part with a motion or object presence detection head, housing an electric switching assembly, equipped at the back with output contacts, and, with a removable cable connector on a back part to connect a cable to the output contacts.
It is usual to connect these switches to a wide variety of connectors, which differ depending on the type of connection, the number of pins, the length of the cable attached to the connector body, or even by the cable outlet direction, etc. In practice, this requires the manufacturer to produce a multitude of switch references because of the different connectors associated with them. Moreover, it is desirable to integrate the connector in the switch box, particularly to avoid any impractical protrusions in an industrial machine environment.
The invention aims to integrate the connector in the box of such a switch in a simple manner, enabling the box to be associated with various connectors, and the connector or the electric switching assembly to be changed, preferably without modifying the box.
According to the invention, the switch box determines a housing for the switching assembly and the connector, and for this purpose, has two large lateral surfaces, contributing to definition of the outer template of the box, and forming partitions at the back part of the box, used as fitting wings for the connector. The connector body is fitted so that it can be detached from the housing between the wings, equipped with at least one partition inside the roughly prismatic template of the box and fastened in the housing by a locking mechanism.
The connector therefore does not protrude from the prismatic template of the box and remains protected. It is preferable that a back surface of the body forms the back surface of the box, and a lateral surface of the body forms part of the lateral surface of the box, enabling the cable to come out via the back or side. The switching assembly and the connector body are preferably inserted one behind the other in the switch box housing, which has a rectangular cross-section, as they have cross-sections that are roughly identical and suited to the housing.
Connector assembly and disassembly are simplified by the locking mechanism, which is preferably provided at the back of the connector body, with a rotatable element, such as a quarter-turn rotational element, accessible from the back surface and at least one latching element able to engage on a stop element provided in a wing of the box. The latching element can then be formed by two tongues provided on the sides opposite the rotating rotatable element to each operate with a slot provided in the opposite wings, between which the connector body is fitted. A seal placed against the internal wall of the housing, next to the electric switching assembly, is pressurised by the connector body""s locking mechanism.